Improvement in presses



rre rares RoswELL'wAKnMAN, or Pour Durosir, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. Slll, dated March 26, 1861..

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RoswELL WAKEMAN, of Fort Deposit, in the county of Cecil, in the State of Maryland, have invented new and useful Improvements in Presses for Baling Hay, Hemp, and Cotton; and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 shows an end elevation with the arrangement ofthe windlass and pulleys. Fig. 2 represents a side view of the press withthe sides and top open for discharging the bale.

My invention consists in having double trapdoors to form the top of the press, which, when opened to receive the hay or other substances to be pressed, leave the space clear to be lled or the bale to be discharged on either side, and whenthe doors are closed they are firmly secured to resist the pressure by a crossbar, it being placed under a yoke and spring held by rods, to which the pulleys are attached, so that all of the pressure is brought to bear directly upon the subst-ance being pressed.

To enable'others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will describe it more fully, referring to the drawings and the letters marked thereon.

The same letters indicate like parts in both of the figures.

rlhe frame and timber work may all be light, l

the base A being framed together in the usual manner to form the support `for the ends B B, which only require -to be of plank from one and one-half to two inches in thickness for the largest presses. `The pieces G C are also of plank, and are pinned or spiked to the ends B B on the outside, so as to form ribs to brace and support the pressure outward. On the top of the pieces C C are cap-pieces D D, which form the support for the yoke a a, the springs b b, and a guide for the rods c c. Through the upright and plank B B is a slit or long mortise, E, to allow the timber F free play to slide up or down. 0n the top of this timber are secured short pieces of plank d d d d, which make the platform and follower. On each end ofthe timber F is a strap of iron, e e, bent so as to form a stirrup, which supports the platform and elevates it when pressing. The straps e e are the blocks in which the sheaves or pulleys f f are secured. To the timber F, outside of the ends B B, are strong staples f/ g, into which a rope or chain is fastened, it passing up over other pulleys, hh, which are suspended on two rods, c c, that pass through the cap-pieces D D and extend above the top sufficient length to form a stirrup by a yoke, a a, extending over the two, and holds to its place a bow-spring, b b, which operates to liberate the cross-bar a when the rope is slackened, so that it is free to take out and replace. The rope passing around the pulleys f f and over h h, and extending down tow the windlass H, makes a complete tackle, so that the power applied to the lever I, acting `upon the ratchet-wheels .I J, and retained by the stationary pawlsjj, a large amount of force and pressure isobtained in a very easy manner, and a bale can be more closely packed in less time and with less power by this arrangement than by any other machine now in use that is operated by hand-power, for the reasonthat every ounce of power applied operates directly on the top and bottoni of the substance to compress it, and there is no strainon the frame or any part of it, except the draft upon the windlass,

which neednot-be more than one pound to fty of the pressure on the bale.

It has been my great object and study to construct a simple, efficient, cheap, light, and portable hay-press-one that can be taken into the meadows and the hay put into bales as soon as it is well cured. A saving of at least fty per cent. in quality and quantity is effected by not exposing it to the weather in handling it loosely after it is once cured and stacked or settled in the mow. All hay for market shouldbe baled when fresh made.

Fig. 2 shows the press in the position it is left after the bale is discharged. To operate, the turn-up doors K K, which are hinged to the frame by the bars k k, are closed up and secured by the hooks Z Z.` The platform F is lowered to the bottom by its own gravity,

` when the windlass is released by raising the pawls j j from the ratchet-wheels J J, thereby giving the advantage of all of the inner space to be occupied by the material. The strips for binding are iirst laid on the platform, and the box is filled up with the material to be baled. The hinged trap-doors M M on the top are then closed down upon it, and the cross-bar G is inserted, each end being under thme springs Q' f 3mm b I) and yoke d a, which are free to be raised being` secured by :i cross-bar, held at the ends y a foot or more, if necessary. Then, by applyunder yokes or strrups, in combination with ing the lever-power to the windlasses, the work springs, sliding rods, pulleys, and Windlasses is effeetually accomplished. operating on both ends ofthe moving platform,

I do not claim the pulleys, windlass, ratehetsubstantially as described, und for the purposes Wheels, and paWl-levers for compressing` subherein set forth.

stances into bales; but ROSVELL VAKEMAN.

W'hat I do claim, and desire to secure by fitnessesz Letters Patent, is- EDM. F. BROWN,

The arrangement of the double trap-doors, y J. B. XVOODRUFF. 

